Metal-planing machine.



A. M. POWELL.

METAL PLANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION 11.21) APR. 23. 1908.

I Patented Sept. 21. 1909. 4 SHEEN-SHEET 1.

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A. M. POWELL.

METAL PLANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 23. 1908.

934,837, I I Patented Sept. 21, 1909.

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METAL PLANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION I'ILED APB..23. 1908. I 934,837, Patented Sept.21,1909.

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A M. POWELL.

METAL PLANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 23 1908.

9. a. m JM J4 WM Patented Sept. 21? 1909.

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Km 'QQW' ALBERT 1V1. POWELL, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

METAL-PLANING MACIfINE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept. 21, 19 99,

Application filed April 23, 1908. Serial No. 428,708.

To all uflto'm it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT M. PoWnLL, a citizen of the United States, residing at \Vorcester, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Metal-Planing Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being made therein to the accompanying drawings.

In' the use of high-speed steel (so called) for the cutting-tools in metal working machines, such as lathes or drills,'wherein the cutting action is continuous and uninterrupted, it is possible to attain very high cutting speeds; in some instances a. rate of cutting speed of over two hundred feet per minute has' been )racticably employed. The great utility ant advantages of such rapid execution are readily appreciable to any person conversant with the art. In the case of metal-planing machines, however, it has heretofore been found impracticable to emloy a cutting speed of great velocity, owing to the fact that the tool will not withstand the shock or blow that it receives when the Work strikes the cutting edge thereof. In planing machinesthe work is fastened to and carried by a reciprocating table or platen that passes alternately back and forth beneath the cutting tool which latter is socured in the tool-holder mounted upon the bar or cross-rail that is adjustably supported upon the stationary uprighthousmgs of the machine. This tot-ward and reverse move ment of the platen and work necessarily interrupts the cut at each stroke and the tool to increase the receives a severe impact blow when starting in anew; the severity and force of such impact increasing greatlyas the speed of the platen is made greater; therefore. while. a planer as heretofore ('OllStllHlUtl has been run at a cutting speed as high as sixty. or perhaps eighty feet per minute. the tools will. not stand the continued shocks and blows attending the starting into a new cut, and hence thirty or forty feet speed has been heretofore considered a practical limit.

The prime object of my present invention ellicieney and speed capacity in machines of this class, and to attain a mode of operation in a metal-planing machine whereby the commencement of the out is ettected at a moderate rate of cutting speed or platen-movement, and then \vhen'the tool is fairly in the work effecting an automatic acceleration of the cutting speed or platen-movement so that the completion o the cutting stroke is performed at a hi her rate of cutting speed than that at whic the cutting tool strikes'into or enters the work.

Another object is to provide in a metalplaning machinea platen-driving mechan ism, an accelerating mechanism in conjunction therewith, and means for throwing the accelerating mechanism into action during the forward movement of the platen as here inafter explained.

Another object is to provide a metalplaner having a reciprocating table or plat-en, with operating means adapted to movement of said platen to'carry the Work. against the cuttin tool. at a comparatively slow s eed and aiter the cutting has commence to increase the cutting speed and continue the cut at a much higher speed throughout the remainder of the stroke; and

then toreverse and return the platen at a quick speed, without increasing the' rim velocity of the power pulley.

Minor objects and features of my invention are explained in the following detailed description, the. particular subject matter claimed is hereinafter definitely expressed inthe -summary. s

The accompanying four' sheets of drawings illustrate a preferred form of embodiment of my invention.

Figure 1 represents a side view of the important parts of a metal planer. Fig. .2. is a side view of the dogs as adapted for separate adjustment. Fig. 3- represents a transverse vertical section, approximately at line V V on Fig. 4-, a portion of the section being at .line V. Fig. 4 represents a sectional plan view, more especiall; for showing the belt-shifting mechanism. F-ig. 5 a section through the power shaft at line 3?, and Fig. 6 is a section at line X. on Fig. 3. Figs. 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views illustrating the action of the tumblers or rockers, and Fig. 9 is a diagram of the cam-plate indicating the corresponding shift positions.

Referring to the drawings, A hcd-framerit the upright housings;

denotes the B the control the 15 pulleys 12 and 15 for the ,driving 30 the center of meshes with pinions 17 mounted to turn on" lstuds 1S stationarily supported in the frame 55 be employed 60 reversin belt 23,

, 'rertically adjustable rail' or cross-head supported thereon; C the tool-holder mechanism mounted upon said rail, E' the cutting tool, and D the work-carrier, table or platen. All

5 of said parts may be constructed and arranged in well known l'n'anner; the reciprocation of the tableor platen being effected by the. usual gearing-from.the pinion F on 'the power shaft It will be understood that necessary parts of the planer which are not" shown herein may beof the usual or any suitable construction.

Upon the operating shaft 10 there is arranged a loose pulley 11, and two power belt 14. The pulley 12 is connected with the shaft by an interior clutch or ratchetdevice 13 that transmits motion in one direction of rotation and releases in the opposite direction. In

the present instance a roller clutch is employed, (see Figs. 3 and 5) but any other form of ratchet or clutch mechanism affording equivalent action may be employed. Adjacent to the side of the upon the shaft, and has within its periphery an accelerating mechanism or train of dif ferential sized gears, preferably as shown in Figs. 3 and 6,

comprising a gear 16 fixed to the pulley disk, and which [mem ber A Larger pinions or gears 19 are Imounted on said studs and respectively firmly attached to the pinions 17, said gears .in turn meshing with a central pinion 20 keyed to. the shaft 10. Any convenientnumber of sets of gears 17 and 19' may be employed Within the pulley 15. In the present drawing two sets are shown. Motion transmitted from the pulley-15 through the accelerating ear causes a more rapid rotation of the shaft 10 than is effected when transmitted through the clutch ratchet 13 from pulley 12.

At the opposite end of the operating shaft there is provideda loose pulley 21, and a tight pu ley 22 for the reversing belt- 23. When the motion of the shaft is reversed the pulley 15 revolves correspondingly slower pulley 12'I ar-- 25 range the thirdpulley 15, which is loose thus be.

28 fulcrumed on stationary parts of the frame, and each having a roll-stud or engagin member that works in the cam slots 30 and 31 of the endwise movable plate or shifting slide 33. Said slide is connected by-ta link 3 1 to a The ,cam slot 30 (see'Fig. 9) for controlling the shift of the power belt 14:, is formed with three stages and two inclined ofisets of suitable extent; while the cam-slot 31 for controlling the shift of the reversingbelt 23 is formed with two stages and one inclined oflset, In the construction shown I provide two tumblers 36 andv 37 the first being provided with two contact lugs or rolls 2 and 3 (see 'Fi 's. 7 and 8) disposed approximately in the re ation indicated; while the second tumbler 37 has onecontact lug or roll 5,and is arranged at a short distance'from the first tumbler. The two tumblers are suitably connected for united operation, instance being provided with downwardly projecting arms 6 and 7 that are connected together by a pivotally attached link bar 38. The tumbler 36 is rigidly joined with the inner head 35 by an axle or ournal extending through the frame, so that the outer and inner tumbler-heads move in unison. 3

The trip-dogs, consisting of the starting dog 40, supplemental dog 11 and reversing dog 42, are adjustably secured upon the edge" of the 'platen, as indicated. The dog 40 is brought. into contact with the roll 2 of tumbler 36 by the reverse movement of the platen. The supplemental dog 41 is brought into crank arm on the inner rocker-head 35 of the tumbler or rocker 36. 70

in the present 85 contact with the roll 5 of tumbler-37, by the advance movement of the platen; and the 'dog 42' is brought into contact with the roll- 3 of tumbler 36 at the limit of the advance movement. The dogs 4-0 and 41 can be both arranged upon the same adjusting block f,

as shown in Figs. 1 and 7, or they may be provided with separate blocks f and J, as in Fig. 2, so to be independently adjustable along the edge of the platen. The dog-blocks of theplaten in usual manner by a tee bolt and' nut 12. The dog 41 is preferably made with astop-pin or device at 8, whereby it can be temporarily retained out of engagement, or swung up to the position indicated by dotted lines a: in Fig. 7. When so held out ofaction the machine can operate with" out acceleration of the platen movement.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9 lines a, b, 0, and (Z are tions of the tumbler and the relatively corresponding positions on the cam-plate in respect to the engaging studs of the shipper arms 27 and 28 and movement of the beltshifting devices. sition a the drive-belt is on the loose pulley are secured to the grooved edge 110 delineated to indicate the several shift posi- When the parts are at -po- 13 engaging to drive the shaft.

11, the reverse belt 23 is on the tight pulley 22 and the platen returning. When at position I; the belts are each on their loose pulleys and the shaft 10 is idle. When at position 0 the drive-belt is on the ower pulley 12,. the reverse belt on, itsv oose pulley. When at position 03 the drive-belt is on the acceleration pulley 15 and the platen advancing at high speed. I

The mode of operation is as follows: When the platen. starts to advance the work against the cutting tool, itmoves at moderate speed until the tool has started in cutting, then the speed of the platenmovement is increased by the automatic action of the mechanism and the out is carried through at a greater velocity or much higher speed than that at which the tool strikes into the work. With reference to Fig. 7, the tumblers 36 and 37 are shown in full lines, as when the platen is on the return; the platen moving in the (liiection indicated by the arrow. This movement brings the dog 40 into contact with the roll 2 of the tumbler 36 and moves the tumblers to the position (1, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 7 and full lines in Fig. 8, effecting a. corresponding movement of the cam-plate 33, and the shifting of the driving-belt 14 onto the power pulley 12. (In this shift the momentum of the moving platen carries it past the position 6 where the belts are both on the loose pulleys.)

As the platen D starts on its advance, for a. distance sufficient to get the tool fairly into the work, the shaft 10 is operated by the belt 14 upon the power pi'llle'y, the ratchet The platen is then i'noving in the direction indicated by arrow in F S, and brings the inclined end of the dog 41 into contact with and depresses the roll 5 of tumblers 3'7, thcrebyfswinging the tumblers to the position a], or as shown by dotted line in Fig. in, and eii'ectin a shift of the driving-belt l t onto the pulley 15, which by reason of the accelerating mechanism increases the velocity of the shaft and cutting speed of the platen proportionally as the predetermined proportions of the ac- (-elerating mechanism. When the accelerating mechanism comes into action the speed of the inner member of the ratchet lil runs away from the outer member or pulley and simply unlocks the ratchet and frees the pulley, so that the shaftand ratchet mei'uber can revolve muchfaster than the revolutions of the pulley rims under the driving-g belt, without interfering u-ith the action.

At the predetermined limit for the platen movement the de 42 strikes the roll :3 and throws the tumb ers so and 3? hack to the position (1:, thereby attracting a shift of the driving-belt to the loose pulley 11, and a shift of the reversing belt to the pulley 22, for returning the platen to its primary position, for there again shifting and starting another cut.

When the drive-belt 14: is shifted from the loose pulley onto the moderate speed or initial power pulley 12, the starting of the shaft 10 is gradual, by reason of the slight slipping of the belt. Likewise it may be noted that when the belt is shifted from said power pulley to the accelerating pulley 15, the rim speed of the two pulleys IS the same; but as the belt passes onto the latter pulley the shaft commences to accelerate with a gradually increasing instead'of an abrupt action, owing to the slipping and elasticity of the belt upon said latter pulley; hence the augmentation of the cutting speed from n'iocilerate to hi 'h speed while the tool is in the work, is effected by gradual and easy transition and without causing a sudden jump or jerky movement of the tool that might affect the quality of the cut.

It. well known that there have been devices heretofore employed, consisting of extra belts and pulleys for increasing the return movement of the platen in .a metal planer. Also various devices, commonly called variable-speed devices for changing the general running speed of the machine in full; but all are designed to give a constant speed of cutting from start to finish of the cut. Such mechanisms are essentially different in nature, purpose and result from the invention herein set forth. So far as I have knowledge there has not heretofore been devised or known any means for automatically accelerating or increasing the cutting speed in a metal-planing machine at .each reciprocation and during the continuous forward movement'of the platen while the tool is in the work and taking off its chip.

1 am aware that in practicing myinvention some changes may be made in the form .of its mubodimcnt, by those skilled in the art, without departure from the nature and scope of the invention as expressed in the claims. I do not. wish, therefore, to he limlied to the special construction. in detail as herein shown.

\Vhatl claim and desire to secure by Let" lei-s Patient. is--- l. in a. metal planing machine, the combination with the platen. the operating shaft, drive-pulleys thereon, and means for moving the platen forward to carry the work against the tool; of an accelerating mechanism, operatively disposed intcrmwliatc its drivepnlley and the platen-moving devices, and cont-ling with said operatingshaft, means for starting and reversing the platen movement, and means for autoimiticallyputting &

said accelerating mechanism into action-after the platen has moved a predetermined distance with the tool in cutting action.

' 2. A metal planer including within its a structure, in combination with the work-supcoactively connected with said shaft for ad-- vancing the forward cutting stroke of the platenat a predetermined greater'or high velocity without change in the speed of the operating force, mechanismadapted for automatically shifting the drive or operative force from said lower-velocity means to saidhigher-velocity means, and a shift-controlling device carried by the laten and positioned for mechanically eecting action of said shifting mechanism after the cuttingtool has entered the work and while in cutting action. v v

3. A metal planer including a reciprocating platen, a platen actuating mechanism provided with an operating shaft j ournaled in bearings in the bed-frame and having thereon means for rotating said shaft for the forward movement of the platen at normal cutting speed, and means for rotating said shaft for forward movement of the platen at higher cutting speed, said means severally operable by a uniformly speeded drive-belt, an automatic belt-shifting mechanism' for shifting the drive power belt from the norinal to the higher speed means, a controlling dog carried by the platen for effecting said change of speed during the normal cutting action in the forward movement of the platen, and a reverse-drive pulley arranged for rcversely rotating said operating-shaft to return-the platen at a higher speed than its normal cutting-speed.

In a metal planer, the combination, with the reciprocating platen, platen-actuating gearing, and its operating shaft; of two drive-pulleys and a loose pulley, of equal diameters, arranged adjacent to each other on said shaft in the order specified,

the loose pulley at the outer side, a for-- from the first to the second adjacent drivepulleys while both said pulleys are running at a uniform rim-velocity, a belt-shifting mechanism, and means carried by the platen for controlling said belt-shifting mechanism, for the purpose set forth.

5. In a metal-planing machine, the combination with the reciprocating platen and platen-actuating mechanism, of the operating-shaft provided with a loose pulley, a power pulley connected with said shaft by a ratchetpr clutch device operative in one direction and releasable in the other direction of rotation, an accelerator pulley connected with said shaft by an accelerating mechanism, means for shifting the driving-belt to .the several pulleys, and means actuated by a member attached to the platen for changing the drive from said power pulley to the accelerator pulley at a predetermmed pos1- tion in the advance movement of the platen.

6. In a metal-planer, in combination with the reciprocating platen, its actuating gears and operating shaft, and a single drive-belt; means for rotating said shaft at different velocities, including adjacent pulleys of similar diameter for said belt, a belt-shifting means for guiding said drive-belt onto either of said pulleys, a pair of rocking tumblers having connections for moving the belt-shif ing means, said tumblers provided with dual and single-contact lugs respectively, means connecting said tumblers for conjoined acti on, trip-dogs for starting and reversing the platen movement, and a supplementaLdog carried by said platen and adapted for im- 4 l parting a secondary movement of the tumblers for nitermedlately controlling a shift of the drive-belt onto the high velocity pulley.

7 Ina metal-planing machine, the combi nation with the platen and platen-actuating mechanism, of the operating shaft, pulleys for the driving-belt arranged on said shaft, and comprising a loose pulley, an initial power pulley connected to the shaft by a ratchet-clutch, a power pulley mounted loose upon the shaft and having a central gear, a system of speed-increasing gearing connectng the same with the shaft; pulleys for the:

reversing belt adapted for giving high speed reverse action. belt-shipping devices includmg the cam-plate having its.shipper-actuatmg slots formed approfnnately as showmea pair of tumblers actuating said cam-p ate, means connecting said tumblers for simultaneous movement, the starting and reversing dogs, and a Slfl llflltl'l'lellltll dog that effects action of the belt-shifting devices to shift the drive-belt onto said speed-increasing pulley at a'predetermined position in the advance movement of the platen.

8. In a metal planer of the character de "'Scribed, the combination, of a reciprocating forward-driving belt and pulleys for the re-' of the platen movement, and means for relaten laten-o eratin earin an 0 eratleasin the controller for the accelerating v 7 2-1 7 z: t., mg sha having therefor 21 speed-acceleratmechanism and maintaining it 1dle to permit ing mechanism for said shaft, pulleys for the forward movement of the platen.

lVitness my hand this 21st day 0i. April,

versing belt, belt-shipping devices for driving-belt and reversing-belt, means for mov- 1908. mg the respective belt-shipping devices, tun ALBERT M. POWELL. blers connected therewith, and platen-carried lVitnessee:

controlling devices for initiating the start CHAS. H. Bn'nnnren, mg, reversing and intermediate acceleratlon CHARLES S. POWELL.

operating the planer with a non-accelerated l5 

